Houge/Coe in ONE night!

by Greg Claytor

First up Rob Hawley. The seeing was steady and transparency clear. I used my factory bino-oculars with no magnification and the Power Point images were excellent. Best I've seen since last month. I really enjoy Rob's workshops. Rob puts allot of effort into the visual and verbal information he presents.

The topic was weather. He talked about global weather patterns that impact our regional seasons. He detailed how those differences affect seasonal viewing in the bay area then went on to address micro climate differences that impact viewing at our favorite sites like Houge, Coe and Fremont peak. He finished up the topic by introducing weather tools available for free, my favorite price, on the www.sjaa.net web site. These help determine if seeing and transparency might be good at a given site.

For instance by mid afternoon yesterday, from my house in Morgan Hill, I could see huge cumulus clouds over Coe and was sure I was going to bag Coe. I called LaFlamme, but he was willing to risk it and drove down from the East Bay anyway. Not knowing this, Rob showed us tools indicating high velocity winds and low humidity over Coe by late afternoon and predicted transparency there was likely very good. This fact was evidenced when LaFlamme called my cell to report he was there and viewing was great! The seeing was good as well, so the winds must have subsided.

Rob finished up by giving us a tour of that night's sky. I REALLY like this part. I learn well through repetition and I'm finding myself starting to anticipate some of the objects Rob points out. My goal is to become an organic star atlas: no silicon or paper needed. We'll, at least for the obvious candy. There's allot of stuff around the tea pot!

Next up LSA/CalStar supplies. Neatly prepped and boxed. The signs are great this year and some reversible allowing us to encourage or stop traffic altogether. There's reflectors to designate entry to the "Late Arrival - Early Departure Area". Traffic control looks to be well thought out.

Next up Loaner Scope #26. Seeing was impossible and transparency invisible. Apparently it's guardian was a no show until the next Houge meeting. I generously offered me Rob's LARGE dob at CalStar. He countered with a 10" Meade he's storing at his house instead : )

Next up the parking lot. I met a guy named Shawn (Sean) with a new XT-10 and stole a view. Discovered we like to Barbecue. Learned he competes, is a Guru, judge and Pit Boss. He recommended the Barbecue Bible by Steven Raichlen and this guy: http://www.baron-of-bbq.com/. Back to astronomy.

Next up, get to Coe. I got there about 10:15 and found Greg L. ALONE! We had the whole lot to ourselves. Weather was a bit cold. I wore long johns and jeans, and four layers up top including two jackets. About an hour and half later I put my cap and gloves on. There's now a light tower to the west! Greg pointed out that it's no worse than Morgan Hill's city lights and the solution is: don't look west. The brain trust in this hobby is staggering.

Greg was pretty well finished racing through his list of objects and turned his 15" Albert Highe/Plettstone inspired custom build beauty over to yours truly. He disengaged the servo cat and showed me how to use the Sky Commander. There are allot of catalogs! There could easily be a workshop on catalogs alone. We checked out Albert's Birthday Cluster in Perseus, the double cluster, M31, M2, M15 and several other globs that I can't recall.

During and between views we discussed scope construction and a myriad of other topics. We were yacking non stop and I peppered him with questions. We stepped over to the tailgate of his truck where he gave me Star Chart reading 101. He pointed out the differences between Uronometria and S&T's Pocket Sky Atlas, then loaned me the later to study prior to CalStar.

By about 12:30 we decided we were done and I helped Greg break his scope down. I've been studying similar scope designs and this was a good opportunity see the intricacies of his solution. I see so much more detail and craftsmanship in his scope now than when I first saw it. I can't wait to started on one! Question is: will my wallet support my fever? Stay tuned.

All in all a very informative and enjoyable evening spent, again, with knowledgeable, generous and friendly people that I'm finding in abundance in this hobby. I encourage people to check out www.sjaaa.net and consider attending one of the Houge Park workshops.